Professor
November 2012
Throughout history art has served as a preservation and representation of the time in which they were made. During the Ancient Greek period art was not only mare naturalistic and humanistic but also became directly affected by the events going around. Both the Marble Statue of an Old Woman and the Marble Statue of Aphrodite are sculptures that were made during the Ancient Greek era, they each tell a story of what was going on during that point in time.
The Marble Statue of Aphrodite is the eldest of the two sculptures, it was sculpted between the 2nd and 3rd century B .C. During this period Greece was at its peak, the people of Greece had power and wealth. The art made at this time depicted the peace of the Greeks and power that they had attained. The Greeks believed that this greatness was due to the gods and goddesses, as they were polytheistic; keeping the gods and goddesses happy meant good things for the Greeks. Many of the buildings that were built were built as offerings to show their beliefs and to display what mattered most to the people of Greece. The marble Statue of Aphrodite is one of these artworks dedicated to the goddesses. Aphrodite was believed to be the goddess of love, lust and sexuality she was also a symbol of strength; she gave the men of the military hope and optimism when going into battle.
As Aphrodite was the goddess of love and lust her statues and sculptures were almost always nude or partially nude. As in this marble sculpture where Aphrodite is pictured fully nude, her face expressionless which is a key attribute to the events going in Greece at the time. Almost all sculptures during this time were expressionless as a symbol that Greece had no major worries, there was no pain or suffering amongst the people and there was a general sense of peace and stability. She is in a contro- postal pose, her feet shifted and most of her weight distributed into one leg. Her arms are now